Meek's Cutoff

I decided to watch this film after seeing it on a few 'Best of' lists for 2011, hoping for a new revisionist western ala The Assassination of Jesse James by the Cowar Robert Ford. It isn't it at all like that film, in fact it isn't at all like any other western I've ever seen. It's very much an indie anti-western, seeking to redraw the genre's boundaries in much the same way that indie films often push the boundaries of drama and comedy. Meek's Cutoff seeks to show the often untold side of the pioneer's story, IE. The pioneers who didn't make it. What we get is a beautifully photographed and ultra-realistic depiction of 1845 Oregon that makes little to no concessions to traditional film dialogue or narrative structure.

I wanted to like this film but I found it kind of slow and boring. I can handle slow films but for me there has to be a payoff of some kind. The true story of Meek's Cutoff concerns a party of pilgrims who are led astray by their guide and 'protector' Meek. The tense slow build of the film mimics the rising panic these people must've felt as they slowly came to the realisation that they were going to die in this barren wilderness. I thought this story was going to be about harsh survival and the inevitable breakdown of civilisation when food and water runs out, but absolutely NOTHING HAPPENS. No one starts dying until the last ten minutes, and most of the film focuses on an Indian that the pilgrims capture and squabble over. It's boring and drawn out and I can almost handle 90 minutes of character mumbling and staring off into the distance if there was any kind of narrative payoff at the end, but the film refuses to nail anything down because it's much too hip and indie for that. The ending made me downright angry.

After looking up the real events this film is based on, I can only conclude that this is an abridged and seemingly toned version of the historical event. In director Kelly Reichardt's quest for atmosphere and understatement she's actually managed to make a film that's less exciting than the reality it's based on. Meek's Cutoff is a waste of a good idea, a waste of the talents of Bruce Greenwood, Paul Dano and Michelle Williams, and a waste of time. Maybe I just won't bother the next time someone thinks it's a bright idea to make a 'mumblecore western'.

DIRECTOR: Kelly Reichardt

WRITER/SOURCE: Jonathan Raymond, based on real events.
KEY ACTORS: Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Paul Dano, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Shirley Henderson, Neil Huff

RELATED TEXTS:
- Reichardt previously directed the indie films River of Grass, Wendy and Lucy and Old Joy.
- Other 21st century westerns: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, True Grit, The Proposition, 3:10 to Yuma, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Open Range and The Missing.
- Other films about journeys of survival and/or European explorers getting lost: Aguirre the Wrath of God, Van Diemens Land, Burke and Wills and The Way Back.

AWARDS
Independent Spirit Awards - won Producer's Award.
Venice Film Festival - won SIGNIS Award. Nominated for Golden Lion.